This invention relates to a device to join two parts, such as parts of furniture.
In the past a number of cam operated joints have been proposed to permit assembly of structures. For example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,598 to Zernig issued Oct. 17, 1978 the head of an arm hinged to one part is slid through a slot in a second part into a cam containing cavity. By rotation of the cam, the head of the arm is first engaged by a cam surface and then drawn by the cam surface into the second part. In this way the parts may be joined and pulled into abutment at the joint. A cam is, however, limited in the distance it will draw in an arm. Further, a cam may loosen over time if the parts are subject to any vibration and thus the joint may eventually come apart. Finally, in situations where the joint need be made and separated repeatedly over time, the cam may wear and fail to function properly. Thus, there remains a need for a joint for joining two parts and pulling same into abutment at the joint which avoid drawbacks present in prior known joints.